Bystander Effect
by Wildcat's Doc
Summary: Sociologist state that the larger a group of people is, the less likely an individual will be to help out a fellow individual. What happen when one Marine doesn't agree and helps out a young boy who is in an alarming situation. And where exactly are his parents?


Bystander Effect

**A/N:** Hey gang! Despite my best efforts I have been sucked into the world of NCIS. So, yeah... this is what results. I don't actually watch NCIS, just read the fanfiction because they can do excellent hurt comfort. That being said, I haven't really read any Harry Potter X NCIS crossovers. I just decided I wanted to write one.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, NCIS or Disney. Anything mentioned here that sounds like it belongs to someone else, probably does. I make no profit off of this.

* * *

NCIS/Harry Potter

Disneyland © is considered a place of fun and a place of magic. Or at least the kind of magic that the Dursleys' accepted, thought their eight year-old nephew, Harry Potter. Back home he would get the belt if he ever said that word, though he did not understand why. But for some reason they did not get upset when the person greeted them at their hotel, the Polynesian Resort.

Harry shrugged it off. He had other things to worry about, including the luggage cart that weighed more than he did. When they had first informed him that he would be coming with them to Disney World, he had been ecstatic. They always left him behind when they had gone on vacations in the past. This time however, the room was paid for and included four people, so when Marge broke her ankle and had been unable to travel, they decided that instead of wasting the money to bring Harry along.

However, Harry regretted already. The plane ride had not been horrible, as his relatives got first class tickets, but gave him an economy class which meant that he was by himself. To most nine-year olds, this would have been terrifying, but Harry found it relaxing not having to worry about saying something wrong… or anything at all for that matter. He even got to sit next to a nice man who gave switched him seats so Harry could sit by the window. Having never flown before, that made the experience all the better. Harry decided he never wanted to plane to land.

But it did. Once they landed in Orlando, Florida the trip started to go downhill. The Dursleys' had been loud and impatient when waiting for their luggage and made Harry chase it down as it circled around on the belts. Once everything had been collected, they took everything to the shuttle to DisneyLand. Everyone on the bus seemed excited, but it was very crowded. Harry had to stand and hold onto the railing. He got a hard pinch, when over a particularly rough curve he almost fell into his uncle's lap.

And now there were at the hotel, checking in. Harry stood several feet away from the family, guarding the luggage cart and waiting for them to get finish up. He looked around in awe at the lobby, and watched as families and couples took pictures there or dragged their weary bodies into the elevator after a long day at the parks.

A disgruntled noise made him look up. That sounded like his uncle and he was well attuned to the moods of the man. And this mood did not bode well for him. His uncle's face was turning purple as he growled at the receptionist. The poor girl was shrinking back, but trying the best she could to explain whatever had gone wrong.

A few minutes later, a man, who must have been the girl's manager, stepped over to them, and the girl practically ran away. The manager calmed his uncle down somewhat, and soon his family was stomping over to him. Harry looked down and hunched his shoulders in preparation for the anger that he knew was coming his way.

"Bloody idiot yanks! Can't even book a sodding room correctly." Uncle Vernon growled, glaring at the people around them. "Boy! Get the luggage, come on. We are room 305. That's on the third floor. It was supposed to be a suite, but they 'overbooked' so now it's just an extra-large room."

Harry followed his relatives slowly, struggling to get the luggage cart to follow him over bumps. When they reached the elevator, after they had gotten in, Harry went to follow. His uncle blocked him. "You can take the next elevator. Don't need your freakishness rubbing off on us anymore then it has today."

Harry nodded and stepped back. As soon as the elevator door had closed, he pushed the upward button. He waited patiently for the people to disembark the next elevator and got on with a young couple, who were more interested in each other than, anyone else. Looking for the three, he pressed the button and waited with the luggage cart.

As they rose, the elevator jerked a few times and the lights flickered. When the elevator stopped at the third floor, Harry once again struggled with the luggage cart that he began to refer to as a 'monster' in his head. He got the first set of wheels over the hump of the door, but had a very hard time with the second set.

"_God!" _a voice from the elevator cried, "can't you move any faster! We've got places to go you freak!" And the cart suddenly jolted forward as someone shoved it. The front wheels ran over Harry's toes and he bit back a whimper as his face flushed. Even people he never met thought he was a freak.

After making sure his foot was not too injured to walk on, just sore, he continued to drag the monster down the hall to room 305. When he got there he tried to open the door, but it was locked. He knocked and then waited. After a no one answered, Harry knocked again, this time a little louder. There was still no reply.

"Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia! It's the luggage… and me!" He called, and knocked a third time.

This time the door flew open, and his uncle yanked him into the room.

"Boy!" His uncle hissed. "What the heck are you doing making a fuss outside."

His uncle pulled the cart in behind him and slammed the door shut. "Unload this freak." He ordered, before walking back over to the bed occupied by Aunt Petunia and settling down to watch some TV. Dudley occupied the other bed. Harry wondered where he would sleep. He did not see a cupboard like the one they had back home.

As he unloaded the bags and unpacked them into the dressers in the room, he looked around. The room contained two large beds, and a large dresser with a huge flat screen TV on top. There was also a mini refrigerator and microwave in one corner, and a big overstuffed chair in the other. Maybe that's where he would sleep. It looked a lot more comfortable than the floor.

After he finished unpacking he stood quietly in the corner. After a few moments his uncle took notice of him. "Freak, take the cart back down. It takes up too much space."

Harry wheeled the monster to the door and after some difficulties with the door, finally managed to get it into the hallway. He wheeled back to the elevators and got on the next available one. Luckily this time it was empty, as everyone got off on his floor. After loading himself and the monster, which was much easier to move without the luggage, he pushed the button for the lobby. The doors closed and it began its descent with flickering lights.

Unfortunately, it was not a very long decent. Halfway between the second and first floor, the elevator jerked to a stop and the lights went out.

* * *

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was _tired_. It had been a long day at the Animal Kingdom and it seemed the only one not exhausted by the excursion was his seven year-old daughter Kelly. She chatted happily about the animals and the rides, as he exchanged an exhausted smile with his wife Shannon, who looked equally worn.

They had decided to go to DisneyLand before he redeployed again, a good decision. By staying on the park they were able to not waste time traveling or parking and it felt like they no longer belonged to the real world. Just the three of them together, enjoying the magical world of Disney, or in his mind, the magically expensive world of Disney. But it was worth it to see Kelly's eyes light up when she saw her favorite characters.

As they headed towards the elevators they noticed that the elevators were surrounded by a small mob of upset people. It became apparent after a minute that one of the elevators was no longer functional.

"It might be better to take the stairs." Shannon suggested eyeing the crowds, "it's only four flights, and it doesn't look like the elevator will be fixed anytime soon."

She was right. The people milling around the elevators seemed to be complaining, but no one seemed was doing anything. Something nagged at Leroy though, and his years as a marine had taught him to trust his gut. "You guys go ahead; I will meet you in the room." Kissing Kelly on the head he walked towards the elevators.

After jostling his way through the crowd of people who were waiting on the working elevators, he found someone who looked like he was an employee. The man was trying to calm the masses, but he was clearly frazzled under the pressure of all the disgruntled guests.

"You!" Gibbs barked like he would at one of his marines, "Report."

The man looked startled but responded instinctively. "Uh, sir… well, this elevator broke down, um, we think about an hour ago… no one noticed until the rush started. Uh… we don't know what caused it, but, um, the fire department has been called and the repair company. It's stuck about halfway between here and the second floor…"

"Is anyone in the elevator?" Gibbs interrupted.

"Not that we… uh… know of. The camera no longer functions either. We don't know why."

"Are you positive no one is on board?"

"Uh… well… not a hundred percent sure. But we haven't heard any screaming…" the man answered.

Gibbs sighed. Sometimes people could be so dense. "Doesn't mean anything." He said gruffly, and then let out an ear-splitting whistle.

"Quiet!" He ordered, and the people fell silent. He walked over to the elevator and bellowed, "HELLO! ANYONE IN THERE?"

If anything, the crowd seemed to become quieter and still as they waited for an answer.

"Hello?" a came a muffled yell.

The crowd began to murmur. "That's a kid!" One person exclaimed. Everyone became animated at that, but no one came forward to help. They just looked at each other and complained about the injustice.

Silencing them with the glare he gave unruly recruits, Gibbs turned back to the elevator. "Kid! Help is on the way. Is anyone else on there?"

"No sir." Came the reply.

"Are you hurt?" Gibbs called.

"No. I'm okay." The boy responded.

Gibbs looked around the fire department still had not arrived. If that kid had been in there over an hour, he did not want to wait around any longer. Turning to the employee he told the man to get an estimate of arrival for the fire department and to let them know that a child was trapped on the elevator.

"Kid," he called back, "What is your name?"

"Harry."

"Okay Harry, we are going to try to get the main door open and see where the elevator car is at, so if you here some noise it's just us. Yell Stop as loud as you can if you feel like your cart is moving. Can you do that?"

"Yes sir."

Turning back to the crowd of people who were still standing uselessly waiting for the elevators and watching the drama unfold.

"I need some men to help me pry the door open!" He called to the group.

People murmured and shifted, looking or nudging one another, but no one stepped forward.

Growing impatient, as there was a scared child at stake, he took decisive action. Finding who appeared most fit in the crowd, he pointed them out and got them to assist in prying the first floor elevator door open.

* * *

Harry sat down in the middle of the elevator. He kept telling himself he was not scared. After all it was just like a floating cupboard. But it was pitch dark in the elevator and even his cupboard had a little bit of light through around the door.

He wondered if the Dursleys were worried, and then sighed. Probably not. They would not have noticed if he had been gone all day. Thinking this made the eight year olds eyes start to water. Tired from the travel and thinking about how much fun the Dursleys were having and that no one noticed him missing made his mind start to become more and more depressed. Soon he was all out sobbing in the dark elevator.

Then he heard a voice asking if anyone was in there. He did not know how long he had sat there crying, but he was relieved that someone had noticed that the elevator stopped working.

Harry stood, walked to the door and called back tentatively. There was no answer. He decided to yell. This time the man responded. After the man asked him to warn him if it moved, Harry walked back to the center of the elevator and sat down to wait again. He hoped they hurried; he really had to use the bathroom.

* * *

After they pried the first floor door open, and two men on each side were holding it, they noticed that the elevator was too high up for them to successfully be able to open those doors and help the child escape. They would need to use the second floor entrance.

Gibbs turned to the hospital staff. "What's the ETA on the firefighters?"

"Um, well about 10 more minutes. Traffic is really heavy this time of night." One of them responded.

"Harry?" Gibbs called, turning his attention back to the elevator.

"Sir," came back a voice. Now that the first pair of doors were out of the way, Harry was a bit easier to understand, though it was clear that it was still necessary to yell. Gibbs had never realized how good elevators were at blocking noise.

"We can't get to you from here. I'm sorry. The firefighters are on their way, but it'll be a few more minutes before they get here. It's too hard to keep these doors open so we are going to let go and wait for them." Gibbs explained apologetically. The poor boy must be terrified.

"A-alright sir. Thank you for trying." Came back the reply. Gibbs could tell the experience was taking its toll on the child as the voice was much shakier.

Inside the elevator Harry began to sob again. More time! He really, _really _had to go and it was really scary. He was beginning to think he would never get out and it was getting hot.

Gibbs gestured to the men to let the doors go, and they slammed shut. He felt awful about leaving the boy in there, but it would be fast once the fire department arrived, and they were better equipped.

Sighing, he ran his hand over his face and turned to walk back up to join his family.

"Uh, um… sir?" A hotel employee with a walkie-talkie stepped in front of him. "The fire department just called. There was a car on fire on the side of the road, so they had to stop and put that out as it classified as a higher emergency level. The a new truck just left the station and is headed toward us."

Gibbs glared at the employee and he shrunk back. "We cannot just leave that child in there for any longer! Has maintenance figure out what's wrong yet?!"

"He says that it's like there is no power going to the elevator but that all the power supplies look fine. He has no clue how to fix it."

Gibbs decided then and there that he was going to get the kid out or die trying. This was completely unacceptable. And where were the kids parents?! If Kelly had been gone this long he would be in an absolute state of panic.

He looked back at the crowd. It had thinned as the other elevators continued to work and take the people up to their rooms as they got bored with the drama.

"Fine. Let's go up to the second floor and see if we can get him from there." He surveyed the remaining people, which mostly consisted of children and hotel employees. "Anyone capable of helping would be appreciated." He stated.

Two men and a woman broke away from their families and followed Gibbs up the stairs along with a couple of the staff. Gibbs looked them over. The men could probably do a good job, and the woman was wearing a tank that showed off biceps that were more defined than most. The staff though were two gangly teenage or college guys who didn't look like they played sports. Well, at least they had the ability to communicate with the receptionist when the fire department got there.

Once he got to the elevator he called to Harry to let him know what was going on.

"Harry?" He boomed.

"Yes?" came the faint reply. "Are the firefighters here yet?"

It was painful to hear the amount of hope put into those words.

"No, but we are going to try to get you from the second floor. So once again let us know if it moves, okay?" He yelled.

"Okay." This reply was fainter. "You should hurry though. I think the walls are starting to get smaller."

Gibbs shared a glance with those around him. The boy was clearly starting to become panicked in the enclosed space. With renewed haste they began to try to pry the doors open.

Within a few minutes it became clear this was too much for the small group. The younger two were already worn, complaining about busy schedules that kept them from working out. Gibbs and the woman had the most force behind them, and the two men were able to help keep the doors from sliding back but it was only a matter of time.

"Sir?" Harry called. "Are you still out there?"

"Yeah," Gibbs grunted back. "You okay?"

"I'm… having… a… hard… time… breathing…" was the panicked yell he got in response.

"Panic attack." Panted one of the men.

"Yeah," Gibbs agreed. Yelling to Harry he told him to close his eyes and count each breath holding it for 5 seconds. There was no response and all they could do was hope that he was doing what they suggested.

Luckily about this time reinforcements arrived in the form of two security guards and two Orlando Police. They helped get the exterior doors open far enough that with four of them holding them, they would be able to start working on the interior doors.

The police officers had also brought a crow bar and car jack with them. This helped them get the interior door started and stable faster. As soon as there were a few inches space between the doors Gibbs called to Harry.

"Harry. Are you okay?"

He got a whimper in reply. The cops continued to use the jack to force the doors open farther, and gestured for Gibbs to keep talking.

"Can you please answer me? We almost got the doors open, and paramedics are arriving now." He heard them bustling around asking the cops for an update, with the horribly late fire department right behind them.

"I… I…" Harry was gulping air as he tried to talk and cry at the same time. Someone tapped Gibbs shoulder and he turned to see an EMT.

"Okay Harry, an EMT here is going to talk to you."

"NO!" came back a frightened answer. "Don't leave. Please don't leave. I'm sorry to be such a problem."

"Easy kid. Your not a problem, I'm just going to let the trained people handle this. I'll be out here when they bring you up okay?" He soothed.

Harry just sobbed harder. "Don't leave, please don't leave."

The EMT tapped his shoulder again and Gibbs shot him an irritated look. Not backing down the emergency responder just whispered. "Here's a flashlight. See if you can get him to look up at us. I'll ask questions through you. There no reason to panic him anymore then he already is."

Gibbs nodded, and took the flash night. The door was now open about 7 inches. No one could fit through yet, but he would definitely be able to see into it.

"Harry, Harry. Its okay. I'm not going to leave at all okay see." He turned the flashlight on and shown it down onto the small figure huddled in the elevator. "Here's some light. Does that help?"

Harry peaked open his eyes and saw the beam shining on the ground. He looked up and could see the outline of a face through the pried doors.

"Hu… hullo." He sniffled.

"Hey." Gibbs responded. "Good to see you finally. I'm Gibbs. Now I'm to ask you a few questions for the paramedics so respond the best you can."

* * *

This will probably only be a two-shot, and that will probably only happen if I get interest in this story. I know I'm supposed to be writing Boris' Son, but I just haven't been in a super Royal Pains mood.

So Yep. Let me know what you guys think with a review. If anyone is interested in Betaing or assisting with either story, please contact me.

WildcatsDoc


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